Five things you need to know about the rise of fuel cell vehicles.

The breakdown: hydrogen on the horizon

The South Australian Government announced on Thursday that it will grant $8.2 million over four years for a hydrogen production and distribution site for fuel-cell-powered electric vehicles including at least six buses. Up in Sydney, the University of NSW has developed a more efficient catalyst for separating water into hydrogen and oxygen without the use of exotic metals, making the technology cheaper to access.

Chinese scientists have been working on a similar theme by pushing to make hydrogen production less energy-intensive, while the US Department of Energy is funding a Penn State project to find efficient ways to store hydrogen.

In Seoul, Hyundai insiders reportedly told Business Korea that the manufacturer is planning a 15-fold increase in the number of hydrogen-powered cars it sells when an all-new model goes into production in early 2018.

Hyundai has big plans for its next fuel cell-powered vehicle. Photo: Supplied

Fuel cell vehicles have been touted as a long-term solution to the problem of personal transportation.

Hyundai, Toyota and Honda have put fuel cell-powered cars into production that offer emissions-free motoring with faster refuelling times than electric vehicles.

Hydrogen for fuel cell vehicles can be sourced from water, which is split into hydrogen and oxygen using electricity. After the electrolysis process, hydrogen is stored under high pressure (up to 800bar or 11,600PSI) and pumped into cars at special service stations.

Fuel cell vehicles such as Toyota's Mirai store compressed hydrogen gas in an armoured container in the back of the car, pumping it through to a fuel cell under the bonnet. There, a complex arrangement of thin, sheet-like membranes combines that hydrogen with oxygen sourced from ambient air around the car. The fuel cell's catalyst triggers a chemical reaction that divides hydrogen molecules into positively charged protons and negatively charged electrons that create an electric current before fusing with oxygen to become water.

The current is then used to power electric motors to provide propulsion, while the water leaves the car as waste.

Hydrogen's key advantage over plug-in electric vehicles is that a car can take on a full take of hydrogen in a few minutes – roughly the same amount of time it takes to top up a tank of petrol – while electric cars usually require several hours to take a charge.

The problem is that hydrogen technology is expensive and infrastructure is extremely limited – particularly compared with the power grid. Both of those factors are likely to change in coming years.

Hydrogen power is also inefficient compared with the latest battery tech. But it isn't as materials-intensive, and it looks to be more scalable than battery tech as heavy vehicles look set to be a key battleground for the race between hydrogen and electric power. The gas is lighter than equivalent lithium-ion batteries, making it a better bet for buses and trucks. Toyota revealed a new fuel cell-powered semi-trailer concept in May that produces 500kW of power and almost 1800Nm of torque, offering a payload of 36.2 tonnes and a working range of 320 kilometres.

Motorists should care, as fuel cell cars offer emissions free motoring with similar ranges and refuelling times to existing petrol and diesel vehicles.

Governments should care as hydrogen technology promises to improve air quality in a sustainable manner.

Say what?

Hyundai Australia's Scott Nargar is hydrogen's lead evangelist in Australia:

"With this vehicle we can rely on a domestic fuel source and not have to rely on oil from overseas. We can make the fuel on site, we can use solar panels and water to make hydrogen and the only thing out the exhaust is water vapour."

"In the end, the long term future has got to be in a fuel cell vehicle that is zero emissions. There's no doubt that electric and hybrid technology is a transitioning technology but in terms of where we're going long term you need a vehicle that's flexible, that gives you the range and the hydrogen vehicle is the only one that satisfies those criteria."

Former US Department of Energy official David Friedman in October 2016:

"Almost every major automaker is actively pursuing hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles... I believe we may be on the verge of a tipping point and it is truly exciting."

Charles Freese, General Motors' executive director for fuel cell business has plenty of faith in the technology:

"We've clearly left the science project stage, and the technology is viable."

"Hydrogen is an energy storage mechanism. It is not a source of energy... If you, say, took a solar panel and use the energy from that to just charge a battery pack directly, compared to try to split water, take the hydrogen, dump the oxygen, compress the hydrogen to an extremely high pressure (or liquefy it) and then put it in a car and run a fuel-cell, it is about half the efficiency, it's terrible. Why would you do that? It makes no sense."

What next?

Musk has a point, but you could equally argue Tesla is heavily invested in battery technology and must push its own barrow.

There's no doubt battery-powered vehicles have an important role to play in the new car market, and you can expect to see Tesla-rivalling machines from a variety of brands including Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Porsche and Volvo.

But there also seems to be a consensus suggesting that fuel cell vehicles will be the future.

KPMG's 2017 Global Automotive Executive Survey found that 62 per cent of executives "absolutely or partly agree that BEVs (battery electric vehicles) will fail due to infrastructure challenges", while 78 per cent of executives agree that "FCEVs (fuel cell electric vehicles) will be the real breakthrough for electric mobility".

Honda and General Motors announced in January that they would work together to build fuel efficient cars from January, shortly after BMW, Mercedes, Honda and Hyundai banded together with industry and energy companies such as Shell, Air Liquide and Linde to commit 10 billion Euros to a cooperative effort to fund fuel cell development in a bid to fight climate change.

BMW said in March that it will produce a production-ready fuel cell vehicle from 2021, and Mercedes is set to launch its own examples in 2018. However, Daimler chairman Dieter Zetsche has gone a little cold on hydrogen tech, telling Drive in January that "in the last five, six, seven years battery electric vehicles have developed much faster, much further than we expected".

"The advantages of fuel cell vehicles as far as filling versus charging times are concerned have become much smaller," he said.

"For that reason, I think it's smart to focus on battery electric vehicles."

Recent developments in the cost and efficiency of fuel cell units could turn the tide away from battery tech.

CSIRO research into membrane reactor technology revealed in May has the potential to transform liquid ammonia (something Australia has in great supply) into high-purity hydrogen for use in electric vehicles.

Dr Larry Marshall, chief executive of the CSIRO, described the development as "a watershed moment for energy".

Brett Cooper, chair of renewable hydrogen for the scientific body, says it could make Australia a major player in the regional energy market.

"With this technology, we can now deliver our renewable energy to Japan, Korea and across the Asia-Pacific region in liquid form, as renewable ammonia, and efficiently convert it back to pure hydrogen for cars, buses, power generation and industrial processes," he said.

"This market didn't exist 10 years ago – now Australia is positioned to be the number one renewable fuel provider in the world's fastest growing region."

Hyundai and Toyota, which both run fuel cell demonstration vehicles in Australia, support the CSIRO's program.

Hydrogen cars have been somewhat slow to take off because of a lack of refuelling infrastructure – something Nargar says is unlikely to change without government investment.

While the tide is shifting there in Australia – hydrogen investment in South Australia and the ACT is likely to be followed by other states – the world's most influential automotive market could prove to be a problem.

The US has been utterly key to the rise of hybrid and electric cars such as Toyota's Prius and Tesla's Model S, in part because of state and federal incentives for customers and infrastructure.

David Friedman, a former senior US Department of Energy official and hydrogen proponent, told the Washington Post in December 2016 – after President Trump won the US election - that sustainable transport opportunities had been politicised.

Friedman, who was put in place by former President Barack Obama, said "the Department of Energy has really changed the world when it comes to energy" and that the US is "facing a fundamental question in this country" regarding green tech.

"Are we going to invest in the technologies that have been revolutionizing the world of energy, and that other countries are waking up to and investing in?" he said.

"Or are we going to let that multi-trillion dollar opportunity slip by?"

Friedman left the Department of Energy after President Donald Trump took office, tweeting that the political climate in Washington was "frightful".

Drive Comments

yarpos | 24 Jun 2017 00:06

Hydrogen is an energy storage mechanism. It is not a source of energy... If you, say, took a solar panel and use the energy from that to just charge a battery pack directly, compared to try to split water, take the hydrogen, dump the oxygen, compress the hydrogen to an extremely high pressure (or liquefy it) and then put it in a car and run a fuel-cell, it is about half the efficiency, it's terrible. Why would you do that? It makes no sense.
Elon's such a wag, aint he? yes that is so inefficient Elon, I mean we all know that you car battery packs (recently stated to create as much CO2 as 8 years of ICE driving, in a Swedish study) just slide down from heaven on a rainbow guided by unicorns.

DJM61 | 24 Jun 2017 06:17

Australia?s first hydrogen pump for cars is located behind Hyundai?s head office in the Sydney suburb of Macquarie Park. Rival brands? hydrogen cars are allowed to use the pump in Hyundai?s bid to get the technology going. Bad luck if you don't live in Sydney.

Boo | 24 Jun 2017 07:55

With local manufacturing ending, there are Billions of federal dollars up for grabs. Electric or Hydrogen - the car makers insist it is up to government to provide the infrastructure. Fuel cell cars were dropped by all a few years ago. These auto thieves will make a profit wherever someone else pays their costs.

dazweeja | 24 Jun 2017 11:53

Elon is of course stating the bleeding obvious. As an energy storage mechanism, it's terribly inefficient and that will never change. He did not say that his batteries were the future, just that batteries were and he is of course right.

DJM61 | 24 Jun 2017 23:20

Some would argue that graphene supercapacitors are the future. https://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/portal/news/graphene-based-supercapacitors-are-viable-battery-replacement

Really? | 25 Jun 2017 21:22

Plug into my home powerpoint and charge my car overnight, or charge on the weeknend directly from our rooftop solar ?
Or
Be locked in to a corporatised and expensive hydrogen system?
I'll go for the first option anyday. Electric cars appear much more viable.

atlas9 | 26 Jun 2017 03:24

Congratulations to the author for providing a balanced article on the evolving hydrogen vehicle sector, although as a researcher who has focused on hydrogen vehicle refuelling infrastructure development, I must query the quotes attributed to Daimler on whether their current strategy is in developing: hydrogen fuel cell; OR battery electric vehicles; but rather the emerging hybrid GLC-F-CELL option demonstrated by Mercedes-Benz whereby the vehicle features a both fuel cell, and a plug-in battery. This reportedly allows the car to be refuelled with hydrogen, and charged up at an electric vehicle socket, thereby offering the best of both worlds.
Similarly BMW has also recently unveiled a BMW 5 series GT fuel cell sedan, furthering their past efforts with the Hydrogen 7 combustion engines from a few years ago. So I was wondering whether the writer might wish to post a follow up article, as this might further educate your readers on the rapid implementation of hydrogen technologies internationally, but most particularly in: Germany; Japan; Korea; and China.
Therefore based on my investigations over the last ten years there are now nine major automotive manufacturers with a hydrogen fuel cell option for the individual commuter, but also the rapidly emerging Chinese fuel cell vehicle manufacturing sector whom have developed: buses, cars, and trams for deployment within the Guangdong province. Moreover if sales of Ballard, and Hydrogenics technologies to subsidiary manufacturing companies are any guide, then there will soon be more fuel cell buses, and trains on the roads in China, and the railway network in Germany, than the total of the rest of the world combined.
Such developments demonstrate that this sector requires further attention, and thus I'd encourage your readership to question the bias that may sometimes be found in media articles favouring one drive train technology over another.

Simiam Sam | 26 Jun 2017 07:25

Ho Ho Ho. -
Back to the future - steam is the only way

Prof A | 26 Jun 2017 12:14

The ultimate mobile energy solution, especially so in Australia, is large-scale solar powered Hydrogen production (either directly or indirectly) with the requisite distribution infrastructure. The complexity of chemical battery storage, which entails all manner of environmentally unfriendly requirements and by-products, will eventually yield to gaseous and liquid Hydrogen storage. The holistic economic/environmental/strategic case will become apparent in the next 3-5 years; full-scale adoption/implementation in 5-10 years. I can scarcely wait.

mreda14 | 04 Jul 2017 17:03

The key battleground for the race between hydrogen and electric power is to keep the environment green. Hydrogen fuel cells are needed to supply green electricity to the electric cars.